According to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, former Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek is set to officially retire on Thursday. Like Tim Wakefield 10 days ago, Varitek will finish his career with the Red Sox.
Varitek played each of his 15 major league seasons with Boston, after former general manager Dan Duquette acquired him via trade in 1997 along with Derek Lowe. It was one of Duke's most beneficial deals, as all the Red Sox gave up was reliever Heathcliff Slocumb for two members of The 25.
Varitek was the team's captain, and while many remember his most recent problems with throwing out runners, or his declining bat, for years he was one of the game's better catchers. His pitchers loved to work with him -- according to recent research by Max Marchi, with good reason -- and from 2001 through 2005 he hit .280/.361/.470, good for a 114 OPS+.
Abraham mentions that Varitek will remain with the Red Sox in some capacity. It's unknown what that is, but it isn't the most unexpected outcome.
It was time for Varitek to hang up his catcher's gear, but that doesn't diminish anything he accomplished while with the Red Sox. Thanks, Jason.